Ever since I saw the first Steph Curry press conference including his daughter Riley I thought that this press conference made Curry and the NBA look good. Curry is dressed casually during the press conference. His outfit consisted of a denim/leather jacket, a Golden State Warriors “Finals” fitted hat, and a simple and plain black shirt underneath. Any facial hair was well kept and hard to see if there was any. Since Riley was also involved in the press conference she was wearing a plain pink shirt and her hair was pulled back and kept.

                This press conference was set up like any other after game press conference, with the Western Finals NBA logo back drop (setting was during or just before the finals). He came in and sat right down with Riley on his lap, didn’t fuss with her or situate her before he started taking questions. Riley gained attention from several reporters by making them and her father laugh at her yawning (as if the press conference was no big deal). A different reporter didn’t find the inclusion of Riley funny, she even made the comment “we’re doing this again?” before asking Curry her question.

                The reporters asked the usual pre-finals questions about how he was feeling going toward the finals, what he thought of tonight’s performance, and how he felt about facing off against LeBron James. There was a question including what he thought about having Riley on a second press conference.

                While Riley squirmed around on his lap and created a distraction off to his sides I think that the way Curry answered the questions was exceptional. He wasn’t hesitant, nor were his answers broken up and hard to follow, despite Riley trying to steal his thunder. He also talked about his team highly. He talked about all of their great efforts during the game not just his own. He was humble about answering questions about the Finals and LeBron James. He didn’t trash James, rather he highlighted the challenge his experience would bring. They also asked a question about how he felt about having Riley with him and he made the reporters laugh with his response about her trying to dominate the press conference. He also didn’t react to her actions off to the side, which is a good decision on his part. While Riley was very distracting he didn’t give the media any reason to critique or judge his parenting skills.

While I think that he answered the questions well, I did think that her wandering around off to his side distracted some of the reporters. It’s visible in the press conference that the reporters are more interested in taking pictures and videos of what Riley is doing rather than paying attention or scribbling down his answers to questions.

If I was the SID I wouldn’t change much. I think that how Curry dressed and bringing his daughter is a great image. It promotes the involvement of father figures even with being a major league athlete. It also shows that these big name idols are just like regular people on certain levels. Curry has a family that he cares about greatly, he plays basketball because he’s great and he enjoys it but he still treats it like it’s a job. When he “goes to work” and then after work it’s about his family, it’s like he’s automatically in dad mode after the game. I would however try to keep her a little more contained on the side. For example, I wouldn’t want her playing in the curtain. While it made the reporters laugh, a large black figure approaching Curry answering questions is really distracting.

I have been following Derrick Henry for the past week on only his Twitter account. I found his Facebook page, however it was a private account and due to his fame, Henry’s account had reached the max number of friend requests for the time.

Derrick Henry is a running back for the University of Alabama football team. He is in his junior year at Alabama and has broken numerous records in both high school and college. This year he also won one of the most prestigious awards in college football, the Heisman trophy. At only 21 years old, he’s become one of this year’s most likely Top 10 NFL Draft picks.

Social media in general can both hurt and harm individuals. One wrong post and the person who posted it can receive serious backlash from the media, the public, and their universities. For Henry, his fame and recognition as one of NCAA’s top players makes him a major player in the public eye. Many people are looking to follow this player’s success story through his social media accounts. Other people, however, are looking closely to see if this NFL prospect has any slip ups before making his NFL debut. For When looking through Henry’s Twitter account, he seems to post only once a week and this month he has only retweeted appearances that mention him. For example on his Twitter page there is a picture with him and President Obama posing in the Heisman stance after he was awarded the trophy. Also on his page is a local radio DJ’s post about an interview with the “brand new Heisman winner.” Just before this month Henry posted an “R.I.P” post to a fellow teammate, #28 Altee Tenpenny and before that he only responds to some of his followers after they mention him. His tweets are grammatically correct and sound more formal than other Twitter users his age. So far there has not been anything detrimental or harmful posted to Henry’s Twitter.

I think that depending on the fame or recognition level there should be regulations put in place. For example, what Derrick Henry posts on his social media pages would reach more of the public than something I post. We are both student athletes, but he is a famous student athlete and is seen of more of a celebrity than I would be. Businessofcollegesports.com did a survey of some of the big name football universities and asked the student athletes if the athletic department allows the usage of social media, if the team has any social media stipulations, and if they have any insider information. Their results showed that the athletic departments allow the athletes have the right to have social media accounts, but it is possible for the team to have their own rules regarding social media usage. At Pace, I was given a speech about how the university pays for a site that provides them with every account that matches their student athletes and they search through it regularly to make sure that we aren’t posting anything negative or damaging to ourselves or the university. I have heard from other athletes that they are not allowed to post at all during their actual seasons without consequence. I do not see anything wrong with universities having stipulations of their athletes if they are paying the student athletes to represent the university. It’s like a job. You put in time and hard work in return for some kind of payout. In addition to representing yourself, you also pick up representing another entity.